Procol Harum

Beyond
the Pale

Procol's Progress since Redhill, 19 July 1997

Five years of glorious aftermath

This page lists some of the noteworthy happenings in Procoldom in the five years since we first came together at Redhill to hear the nine-man Procol Harum give a retrospective command performance that many thought was their final musical statement. Yet it's been commented recently that the Procol Community is in better shape than it was even in the band's supposed heyday: and Redhill, it seems, really lies at the root of this burgeoning. We must also, of course, acknowledge the development of the Internet and the early influence of Henry Scott-Irvine's Shine On magazines, which were indeed 'a thought to sow the seed'.

Of course not all the events below were demonstrably caused by the Redhill party but Redhill proved to many Procol fans that they were not alone, and that it was enjoyable to keep in touch with others of like mind. And one thing feeds off another. This communication whets latent enthusiasm and revives the appetite for great music: and a record company will unearth or commission Procol material if they know there are fans willing to buy it; Procolers will be interviewed for broadcast if there is audience feedback; and this makes promoters willing to invite the band to perform and that creates new fans

And it didn't affect only the fans: there can surely be little doubt that we are now seeing a renaissance among the Procol players also, which has been fostered over five years of continuing post-Redhill development in the fan-base it has now come to a point where we have a fixed-personnel Procol Harum again, with a new live recording out and much talk of a further studio album.

So please enjoy the list below, on this fifth anniversary of the Redhill party, and follow the various links which should take you well into the next five years of Procoldom

19 July 1997 in Redhill was in fact the first meeting between future BtP webmasters Jens and Roland, and the first ideas about building a new website  based on Jens's website at that time, Shine on Brightly  were discussed in a local coffee shop.

8 October 1997

The new Procol Harum website 'Beyond the Pale' is born. And the webmasters, Jens and Roland, selected this interview with Kenny White as a tribute to BJ Wilson for the opening day.

Amazingly the website is updated every single day, thanks to a great community of contributors all round the world, and quite a number of Patron Saints.

No Stiletto Shoes play in Southend the following day. This great weekend saw the second meeting between several international Procoholics, soon to be known as the Palers. 'Could this be the first sign of a much-wanted re-birth of Procol Harum?' Jens wrote in this report

27 July 1999

Pioneer Entertainment releases the first Procol DVD: Best of Musikladen including the 1971 BeatClub show and Grand Hotel and Drunk Again from a 1974 appearance.

24 November 1999

The Danish Procol fans form an organisation and meet in Copenhagen: details here

7 December 1999

Gary Brooker is interviewed by Douglas Adams at London's Barbican Centre: Palers attend from various countries: a suite of pages here

Gary Brooker plays Holding On at the memorial service for the life of Douglas Adams, Procol Harum fan.

23 September 2001

University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) broadcasts its first Procol internet radio marathon: the series extends to seven huge shows with interviews with Brooker, Fisher, Reid, Whitehorn, Brzezicki and Pegg  and even Clare and Ravnaas from 'Beyond the Pale'

Classic Pictures release Procol Harum - Live (DVD) : 150 minutes of Procol Harum filmed onstage in December 2001 and also in rehearsal

25 May 2002

Procol Harum opens this year's summer tour in Croydon (after their scheduled concert in Newcastle the preceding day was cancelled). The setlist included some nice surprises, and Palers from more than 20 countries celebrated the 35th anniversary of AWSoP by drinking 'One More Toast' with the band.

July 2002

Repertoire Records reissue Broken Barricades with three bonus tracks, Live in Edmonton with one, Liquorice John Death, a 3CD 67-track set of Singles A's & B's with all the 45s Procol Harum ever released, including rarities such as Adagio and The Blue Danube